VOL. 50 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
P43
Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic
fortable on the new Road King.
The bike was easy to ride and every time something came up, be
it a questionable road surface or
slower traffic, I was able to maneuver around or accelerate past
it with minimal effort. These bikes
are big and I didn't want to find
out the hard way what can happen if you get in over your head,
but you will find that the new Harleys can handle most conditions
with relative ease. Just make
sure you show some respect or it
can get ugly real fast.
I checked out the new braking
system several times at speed and
found the lever feel was good –
with plenty of feel. The linked control is somewhat strange at first,
but after you get used to it, it's
pretty cool. The new cruise control was something I hadn't even
thought of until later in the ride. It
is very easy to use with one flick
down on the left side handlebar
control to activate it; then a simple
push on the lever when you find
your desired speed.
Looks and attitude have been
part of the Harley experience for
as long as I can remember so
when it came to the styling side
of the bike they left nothing untouched. Again, I'm sure there
was plenty of input from the customers on where and how far to
take the new design.
For the Harley-Davidson family
the Rushmore Project represents
a redesigned and enhancement
of the current models - along with
a complete restyling of the bikes.
The classic Batwing fairing was a
big part of the new look and in order to achieve better aerodynamics while not losing any of its styl-
ing characteristics, the designers
and stylists had to work hand in
hand with the engineers.
"Respect the heritage, but
move it forward." That was the
goal put forth to the Rushmore
team and they delivered.
It's not just the fairing that got
overhauled. It was virtually every aspect of the bike, including
things like hand controls, luggage
compartments, new saddlebags,
new lower fairings, gauges and
much more.
So what about that new Batwing fairing? Well, it does provide
a significant reduction in head
buffeting and the redesigned
shape also gives extra coverage in front of the hand controls.
The Electra Glide, Ultra Classic
and Ultra Limited have the taller
of the two windscreen designs
and it does work better in terms
of wind buffeting over the Street
Glide and Street Glide Special,
which have the shorter, more aggressive-looking screen with less
protection.
Even the front fender has been
modified to further enhance the
looks of the new models. The
fender has a more streamlined
shape and the skirt has been cut
higher to show of more of the
"
EVERY TIME WE STOPPED AND I
HAD TO PUT MY FEET DOWN I COULD
FEEL THE LEFT SIDE PRIMARY DRIVE
COVER TRYING TO BURN ME.
"
